


Glitched Out

by Sp00kyB1cycle



Category: HLVRAI - Fandom, Half Life VR But The AI Is Self Aware
Genre: Alternate Universe, Black Mesa Sweet Voice, Canon-Typical Violence, Gen, Multi, Not Beta Read, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Swearing, Technically a Glitch Techs au i came up with on the spot, Trans Gordon Freeman, Trans Male Character, but it still?? Kinda?? Is??, first ao3 fic please go easy on me..., i don’t actually know how to tag, its not a game au, rated M for violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-12
Updated: 2020-08-12
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:14:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,305
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25864969
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sp00kyB1cycle/pseuds/Sp00kyB1cycle
Summary: A big corporation, Black Mesa, is making money off of unfinished material, and when said materials go haywire an unsuspecting game dev gets sucked right in the middle of it.Or Op watched two episodes of Glitch Techs before writing this
Relationships: Benrey & Gordon Freeman, Eventual Benrey/Gordon Freeman but idk yet, Gordon Freeman & Darnold Pepper, Gordon Freeman & Everyone
Comments: 1
Kudos: 13





	Glitched Out

**Author's Note:**

> Hi welcome to hell!
> 
> This au came at me like a bullet train so thanks brain 
> 
> This is just the initial set up chapter for the story so I hope y’all don’t mind some mundane office talk before we get to the good stuff!!
> 
> Please enjoy and also if you have the time, go give Glitch Techs a watch on Netflix!! It’s super good and deserves some more recognition!!
> 
> Please enjoy!

It was a Monday morning. The chirping of birds and the sound of cars pulling in and out of the small shopping center across the street could be heard from an open office window. That, mixed with the sounds of fingers clacking away at keyboards and the clicking of multiple, unsynchronized mice, elicited a never ending pain behind Gordon’s ears as he walked into his office. Hearing the same noises walking into work for weeks and weeks on end was tiring as hell but somehow he still continued to put up with it.

It didn’t help that Gordon was late for work. Sleeping through his alarms and rushing through his usually slow morning didn’t help the insistent pounding in his head. Hopefully none of his advisers would be around while he clocked in.

He trudged through the maze of cubicles that lined the walls of the building, walking briskly to get to the time clock on the other side of the first floor. Hoping that no one would notice him.

“Mr. Freeman!” Someone called out to him. Gordon groaned silently but continued his heavy strides even as the sound of rushing footsteps quickly sounded behind him. Gordon was halfway to the time clock and no way was he slowing down now.

“Mr.- Mr. Freeman slow… Slow down, please.” They said. They caught up, grabbing Gordon by the shoulder and slowing him down some.

Gordon glances to his side. A dark, umber hand is placed firmly on his shoulder, dead set on getting his attention and slowing Gordon down.

He stops begrudgingly, huffing out steady breaths as he tries to catch up with his body's own needs of oxygen, and turns around.

Darnold. It was Darnold.

He was wearing some casual work clothes. Darnold was wearing a white dress shirt underneath an auburn sweater, a pair of slim black corduroys with silver buttons, and a sleek pair of red converse. On his wrist was a silver watch that seemed to just pull the whole outfit together. Besides being thirty seven, Gordon was positive Darnold must often be mistaken for a kid who just reached their mid twenties.

“My goodness, Gordon!! Do you ever-“ He paused. He bends over to place a hand on his knee and takes in a deep breath. He looks up to Gordon, a quirked smile plastered on his face. “Do you ever slow down?”

Gordon’s resentment of being paused faded as he looked to his only actual friend in the office, a small smile creeping on his own face. Darnold takes his hand off Gordon’s shoulder once he’s gotten his full attention.

“I didn’t realize you were calling after me, Darnold.” He said sheepishly, hand going up to scratch at his neck. He could feel the burning heat of blush and anxiety on his face.“Zoned out a little, I guess… running a bit- well? Actually a lot late.”

Darnold stares blankly at him for a few seconds, and Gordon swore he saw the little loading symbol above his head. Before he could say anything, though, Darnold snapped his fingers, pointing his index towards the ceiling. 

“I remember now!” He said, his eyes widening and his smile, now, a lopsided grin. “You were supposed to be here…. almost- almost an hour ago!! Mr. Freeman, you're late!”

The exclamation of his tardiness rings out through the mostly quiet offices. Sometimes Darnold just… didn’t have an inside voice, but that’s A-Ok. Perfectly fine…. perfect.. just perfect.

Oh who was he kidding? Now everyone knew Gordon was late.

A groan escaped Gordon’s lips and he rubs at his beard in frustration. He moves onwards to the time clock to hopefully try and get this day over with. Darnold follows suit.

“Yeah, yeah, I know I’m late. I got stuck in- stuck behind a garbage truck-” He lied. “-that fuckin’?? I guess it just didn’t know how to do its job because suddenly- one minute I can see out of my front window and the next I’ve got old food and cans falling onto my car!!” He says dramatically, desperate for it to be convincing.

Darnold huffs out of his nose as a sort of laugh. His eyes scrunch closed and his face krinkles into another joyous expression. Gordon laughs in return, the two continuing their way down the expansive hallway.

Gordon mentally checks off “convince a coworker of a blatant lie” on his list of things to do today.

They fall into line with one another, conversations halting as they make their way to the time clock. The small machine placed on the wall in a break room on the other side of the building was a great way to get employees to actually use the break room. The coffee was shit but at least there was the occasional free, stale donut.

Gordon clocks in. He’s DEFINITELY ready for a day filled with trials and tribulations! I mean? Who isn’t?

It’s Gordon. He’s not ready.

Gordon grabs a stale donut from one of the many round tables in the room, placing it in his mouth before walking over to the coffee machine. Darnold ghosting behind him before going and leaning on one of the tables.

“So..” The older man starts. “What kind of tests are you working on… I mean? Not that I’d ever pressure you into telling me but like? What’s on the docket for you… today?”

Gordon chuckles softly, donut still firmly in his mouth as the groan of a warming water basin fills the silent room. He clicks a few buttons before taking a bite of his donut and pulling it out of his mouth.

He then puts one of his hands over his mouth while he speaks.

“Honestly? I don’t know much about the damn thing myself.” 

“Really?” Darnold asks, tilting his head in mock confusion.

“Yeah! All they said was-”He swallows before looking back at the coffee machine, completely forgetting to grab a cup. He quickly takes a cup from the cabinet above him after noticing the coffee was beginning to exit the machine and throws it under the coffee maker. He sighs gratefully at his reaction time.

He sighs, again. That warm blush creeping back onto his cheeks in embarrassment.

“All they said was that I’d be watching over some testers for the beta of a new game. Didn’t- didn’t bother to tell me what game it was or give me a uhh.. a list of the people I’d be shadowing but… I honestly don’t know what the hell i'm stepping into.”

The coffee machine spurted out the final remnants of coffee into Gordon’s cup before it was in his other hand. He takes a sip, the taste of black coffee bitter on his tongue but enough so to wake him up a bit more.

“Welp! Hopefully it’s nothing too bad.” Darnold shrugs. He claps a hand over Gordon’s shoulder, and pats it a few times before pulling his hand away. A friendly, almost sympathetic gesture. “I mean.. What's the worst that could happen? A tester rage quitting?”

Gordon laughs half heartedly before humming softly, his face twisting into something akin to concern. There’s another pause in dialogue between them before Darnold is looking at the watch on his wrist. 

“Oh, goodness!” He says alarmed. His foot bouncing. “You may not have to worry about being the only tardy person in the office! I’m going to miss my board meeting if I don’t get going!”

The older man gives a curt wave and a promising “have fun” before rushing out and into the hallway.

Gordon watches him go through a window on the wall, taking another swig of bitter, black coffee. He pulls his phone out of his back pocket, swiping through a few apps and after a quick five minutes, decides to finally exit the room himself.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!!
> 
> Idk when the next chapter will be out but I’m slowly working on it ahfjgkshagvd


End file.
